Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material



March l 1927. 1,619,020

J. R. GAMMETER APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING STRIP MATERIALl Filed Jan. 29. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1, 1927. 1,619,020

J. R. GAMMETER APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Jan. 29. 19124 2 Sheets-Shet 2 l hl 55 lullin' ZIJ JmiH/WTZE@ if/5f.

15 each of a succession of vulcanizing opera- 25 a given yar 13 whereby articles of long length may be vul- Patented Mar. 1, 1927. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN '.R. GAMMETER, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THEB. ".F. GOODRICH COMPANY, F NEWYORK,`N. Y., A'ICORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR VULANIZING STRIP MATERIAL.

Application lediJanuary 29, 1924. vSerial No. 689,235.1y I

cover is formed on its outer periphery with a gear-segment 14 meshed with a drive pinion 15 mounted on the casing 11 and adapted to turn the cover'13 sufiiciently to bring it toits locking and unlocking positions, said 60v pinion having a liub 115 formed with a hole 215 to receive a turning bar.` Apertured ears, one of which is shown at 16, are formed `on* the cover to facilitate the placing and removal of the latter. l 05 A pluralitg of vertical, hydraulic rams or pistons 1 17, extending through the iioor of the annular vulcanizer, are positioned at equal distances from each other along the middle line of said floor, said rams 70 Working in respective cylinders 18, 18, sealed to and extending downward from said floor, each cylinder beingV provided at its lower end with a pipe 19 for the admission and discharge of water in the operation of the 75 ram. Mounted upon the upper ends of the several rams 17 in common is an annular press platen 20, adapted to support a stack of annular, two part molds 21, 21, and hold the same closed by forcing the stack against 30 the cover 13, the latter constituting the upper press platen.

To avoid tilting and strainin of the platen 20, such as might result if t e several rams 17 failed to operate uniformly, equal- 85 izing means are provided, comprising a plurality of circumferentially spa vertical racks, one of which is shown at 22, secured to said platen at its inner periphery. Each of said racks extends downward from said 90 platen through an aperture' in the floor of the ""vulcanizer casing, through an exterior Iguide sleeve 23 securedpand sealed to said floor, and into a cylindrical pipe or housing 24 secured and sealed to said guide sleeve, `95 the lower end of said pipe being sealed to prevent escape of heatin fluid from the vulcanizer through, the gui e sleeve 23. Meshed with yeach of the racks 22, withinthe vulvcanizer, -is a drive pinion 25 secured on lthe 100 end of a shaft 26, said shaft beingfdisposed radially of the annularivulcanizer casing and extending through a stuffing box 27 in thel inner side wall thereof. The several shafts 26 are mounted at theirvother ends, at the 105 This invention relates to vulcanizers and methods of vulcanizing such as are used in the rubber industry, and more particularly to the vulcanizing of molded rubber goods where pressure is applied to separable molds to hold their respective members in closed relation during the vulcanizing operation.

My invention' is particularly applicable to the vulcanizing of strip material of long length, such as hose, which heretofore most commonly has been molded and vulcanized in a platen press adapted to vulcanize only a relatively short length of the hose or thel like, the work being moved forward after tions so as to effect the vulcanization step by step.- This method is notonly slow, but results iii-non-uniform vulcaniz'ation in the finished article because of imperfect junction of the separately vulcanized zones. It heretofore has been proposed to vulcanize strip material such as hose by winding it upon a drum and molding it against the latter during vulcanization, but such procedure, for dage of hose, requires a great deal of a paratus and an undue amount of time andabor for the operation thereof.

The chief object of my invention is'to provide improved procedure and apparatus canized simultaneously throughout their entire structure, and with economy. of labor and equipment. Another object is to produce articles of uniform quality. Another` ob'ect is to reduce the amount of time Arequired for each vulcanizing operation, .thereby ermitting increased production without ad tional equipment.

Of the accom anying drawings: 4 Fig. 1 is a p an view of a portion of avulcanizer embodying and adapted to carry out my invention in its preferred form, a, part being broken away to show the work therein. y i Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig, 1. v

. leferring to the drawings, 10 is an annular foundation upon which is mounted a vulcanizer casing 11, .enclosing an annular vulcanizing chamber, said casing being provided with a steam inlet 10,`;and a steam 'center ofthe space surrounde by Lhe anoutlet and drain 10b, Fig. 2, and with an nular vulcanizer, in .respective bearings 28, annular, interlocking cover 13 of the breech- 28, formed on a central bracket 29, the latblock'type, interlocking with both the inner ter being mounted upon a pair ofbeams 30, andthe outer wall ofthe casing 11. Said 30 embedded in and extending diametrically 110 lacross the annular foundation 10, beneath the vulcanizer. Mounted centrally on the bracket 29is a vertical stub shaft 32, and journaled on said stub-shaft is a bevel-gear 33, meshed with bevel-gears 34, 34,' secured upon the adjacent ends of the respective radial shafts 26, .the latter thus being compelled to rotate at the same speed, so as to maintain the platen accurately in horizontalposition as it is raised4 and lowered, notwithstanding such inequality as may occurin the forces directly applied to the platen by the several rams.

The sections of each of the annular, two part molds 21 are formed with vcomplemental, registering, molding cavities or grooves of volute or. spiral form, progressingl in successive convolutions or loops from the inner to the outerperiphery of the mold, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 1, wherethe spiral' groove of one of the mold sections is occupied by a hose 35` constituting the work. The bottom surface of each mold is traversed -by a seriesof ra-y dial grooves 36, 36, and an, intersecting series of circumferential grooves 37, 37, so that steam injected into the vulcanizer will penetrate between the molds, resulting in a quicker and more uniform cure of the work therein. Y

In the operation of the apparatus, which in general will be understood from the foregoing description of structure, the work 1s coiled in the several molds, the latter mounted as shown in the drawings, and vulcanized by a heatingl fluid such as steamv conducted into the0 vulcanizer casing 11, while the molds are heldv closed by the rams 17 and the equalizer device which includes the racks 22, etc.

Hollow strip'material such as hose may be expanded' against the mold during vulcanization, as by inserting a blowing material in the-hose and closing the ends of the latter at the beginning of the vulcanizing operation, or by maintaining the interior of the hose in communication with a source of pressurefluid supply during vulcanization. .j

After removal from the molds and whil still Warm, the work may be stretched and I' straightened so that no permanent deformation will result from the curvature of the mold cavity.

The vulcanizer,being annular, may be' of such size as to ave sharp curvature of the spiral strip of marrial' being vulcanized, without the vulcanizing chamber being of such fluid capacity as to require an undue volume of heating Huid. A very long length of strip material may be uniformly vulcanized in a single operation, and the molds, `the vulcanizer cover 13 and the platen 2() may be of light weight in' proportion to the amount of stripA material accommodated by the apparatus.. The work being coiledv approximately in a plane, molds of the simple, two part type may be used, with the advantage that the mold may be simply closed by the pressure of press platens, as distinguished from the vulcanizing of strip material wound on a drum, where at least a three part mold is required, with attendant disadvantages such as slow assembly and operation and small capacity for a given size of eqlpment.

odifications may be resorted to without departing from the scope of Inyinvention and I do not wholly limit my claims to the specific construction shown or the exact' procedure described.

l claim:

1. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising avulcanizer casing providing an annular vulcanizing chamber, an annular mold therein, means associated with said casing for holding said mold closed, and means for conducting a heating fluid into said chamber.

2. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising a vulcanizer casing providing an annular vulcanizing chamber, an annular mold therein formed with a spiral mold cavity disposed, in a plurality of convolutions, longitudinally of said annular mold, means associated with said casing for holding said mold closed and means for conducting a heating fluid into said chamber. o Y

3. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising a vulcanizer casing providing an annular vulcanizing chamber, an annular cover thereoradapted to serve as an upper press platen, an annular, lower press platen in said chamber, and means associated with said casing for raising and lowering said lower press platen.

, 4. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising anannular mold f the two part type having a continuous mold cavity disposed, in successive convolutions, longitudinally of the annular mold, meansVA xcluding a set 'of iuid-otperrams, and means for heating the material in the mold.

5. .A vulcanizing apparatus comprising a vulcanizing chamber and means for subjectlng a plurality of molds therein to pressure including a movable platemaV plurality of spaced means for actuating said platen, and

means for equalizin the movements of said platen under the o'rce of said actuating means.

6. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising. a p

vulcanizing chamber and means for subjecting a plurality of molds therein to pressure including a movable platen, spaced, fluidoperated rams' adapted to actuate said lao platen, and means for equalizing the movements of said platen under the force of said rams.

7 A paratus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising a canizing chamber, a cover therefor adapted to serve as an upper press-platen, a lower press-platen in said chamber, a set of spaced fluid-operated rams adapted lto raise and lower said lower press platen, and means for equalizing' the movements of said platen under the force of said rams.

8. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said a paratus comprisinga vulcanizer casing enc osing an annular chamber, an annular cover therefor adapted tofserve as an upper press platen, an annular, lower press platen in said casing, and a set of fluid-operated rams adapted to raise and lower said lower press platen.

9. Apparatus for rial, said apparatus comprising a vu canlzer casing enclosing an annular chamber, an an'- nular cover therefor adapted to serve as an upper press platen, an annular, lowerpress platen in said casing, a set of fluid-operated rams adaptedto raise and lower said lower press platen, and means for equalizing the movement of said platen under the force of said rams.

10. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising a vulcanizer casing enclosing an annular chamber, an annular cover therefor adapted to serve as an upper press platen, an annular, lower press platen in said casing, a set of fluidoperated rams adapted to said lower press platen, equalizing the movement of said platen under the force ofsaid rams, said equalizin means comprising a plurality of vertica and means for platen in sai 'and means for vulcanizing str1 matelike closure means,

raise and lower racks secured to said platen, -and gearing so lconnecting said racks as to compel them-to move equally. x A

11. Apparatus for vulcanzing strip material, said apparatus comprising a vulcanizer casing enclosing an annular chamber, an annular cover therefor adapted to serve as an upper press laten, an annular, lower press casing, means -for raising -an owering said lower press platen, and aplurality of annular mold members stacke on said lower press platen. e

12. Apparatus for vulcanizing strip material, said apparatus comprising a vulcanizer casing enclosing an annular chamber,

an annular cover therefor adapted to interlock with both the inner and outer side walls" thereof 'by relative circumferential movement, an annular mold in said casing, holding said mold closed by forcing it against said cover.

13. Vulcanlzlng apparatus comprising av vulcanizer casing enclosing an annular chamber, an annular cover therefor, adapted to serve as an upper press platen, a lower press platen in said casing, a plurality of vertical racks secured to and extending downwardly from said platen through aperturesin the ioor of said casing, sleeveinto which said racks extend, sea-led to said casingfaboutthe respective apertures in the floor of thelatter, radial shafts traversin the inner wall of said casing adjacent vt e 'respective racks, pinions secured on the respective shafts and meshed with the respectlve racks and earing operatively connecting'the radially inner ends of the several shafts. l

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this4 23rd dag of J anua 1924.

J R. G TER. 

